Development of ultra-heavy Il plane to begin in 2016, mass production to start in 2023

ULYANOVSK, November 21. /TASS/. The development of the ultra-heavy plane Il that is to replace An-22 and An-124 planes will begin in 2016, Sergei Sergeyev, Director General of the Il company, said on Friday.

“The development of the first plane in this family will begin in 2016,” he said, adding that mass production of such planes would be kicked off in 2023-2024,

These planes will be assembled at the Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar-SP aircraft-maker.

“The plant will assemble at least one or two ultra-heavy planes with a carrying capacity of more than 80 tonnes,” he said, adding that this project looked very promising on the commercial market.